Theories of Personality, 4E (Cloninger)
Theories of Personality, 6e (Cloninger)
Chapter 1
Multiple Choice
1) Writers and philosophers tell us about human nature. Why do we also need psychology?
A) Writers and philosophers ignore human motivation.
B) Psychology allows a systematic understanding of human nature.
C) Psychology is concerned with values, which writers and philosophers ignore.
D) Writers and philosophers ignore maladjusted personalities.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2, p. 2
Question Type: Conceptual
2) Psychology attempts to understand human nature using the method of
A) science.
B) literature.
C) intuition.
D) philosophy.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 1, p. 2
Question Type: Factual
3) What is personality, according to your text?
A) a person's social skills
B) the reaction of a person to social forces
C) the underlying causes within the person of individual behavior and experience
D) the individual's level of adjustment or mental health
Answer: C
Difficulty: 1, p. 2
Question Type: Factual
4) Which of the following kinds of questions are not addressed by personality theory?
A) questions about personality dynamics
B) questions about personality development
C) questions about personality description
D) questions about personality diffusion
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2, p. 2
Question Type: Factual
5) When we ask, "How is one person different from another?" we are asking questions about the
______of personality.
A) description
B) dynamics
C) development
D) destiny
Answer: A
Difficulty: 1, p. 2
Question Type: Factual
6) When we ask, "How do people adjust to their life situations?" and "How does their thought affect what
they do," we are asking questions about the ______of personality.
A) description
B) dynamics
C) development
D) destiny
Answer: B
Difficulty: 3, p. 2
Question Type: Factual
7) When we ask, "How do biology and experience influence a person from childhood onward?" we are asking questions about the ______of personality.
A) description
B) dynamics
C) development
D) destiny
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2, p. 2
Question Type: Factual
8) Categories of people with similar characteristics are called
A) factors.
B) traits.
C) types.
D) sets.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 1, p. 2
Question Type: Factual
9) Hippocrates, in ancient Greece, described sanguine, melancholic, choleric, and phlegmatic
______of personality.
A) traits
B) types
C) dynamics
D) factors
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2, p. 2
Question Type: Factual
10) A measure in which a person is given a score on some dimension, for example, a score of 61 or 85 on
a 100-point scale of "traditionality", is a ______measure.
A) qualitative
B) quantitative
C) factorial
D) typological
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2, p. 3
Question Type: Conceptual
11) How can we describe personality?
A) Factors
B) Traits
C) Types
D) All of the above
E) None of the above
Answer: D
Difficulty: 1, p. 3 (table)
Question Type: Factual
12) Which of the following does not describe a trait?
A) Trait scores are discontinuous variables
B) A person is given a numeric score to indicate how much of a trait the person possesses
C) There are many traits to describe everyone
D) A person can be described on every trait.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2, p. 3 (table)
Question Type: Conceptual
13) Which of the following does not describe a personality type?
A) Membership to a type is all or nothing.
B) A person belongs to one and only one category.
C) There are many different types to describe everyone.
D) A person fits into only one type.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2, p. 3 (table)
Question Type: Factual
14) Which of the following does not describe a factor?
A) Factor scores are continuous variables.
B) There are many factors to describe everyone.
C) A person is given a numeric score to indicate how much of a factor the person possesses.
D) A person can be described on every factor.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2, p. 3 (table)
Question Type: Conceptual
15) In the study of personality, including the influence of society and culture allows a better explanation of ______differences among people.
A) gender
B) ethnic
C) cultural
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2, p. 3
Question Type: Conceptual
16) A ______allows a more precise description of personality because it refers to a more focused set of characteristics.
A) variable
B) type
C) temperament
D) trait
Answer: D
Difficulty: 1, p. 3
Question Type: Factual
17) Like traits, factors are
A) broad.
B) quantitative.
C) qualitative.
D) developmental stages.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2, p. 3
Question Type: Conceptual
18) In comparison to factors, traits refer to more ______characteristics.
A) socially desirable
B) broad
C) specific
D) changeable
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2, p. 3
Question Type: Factual
19) In comparison to traits, factors refer to more ______characteristics.
A) socially desirable
B) specific
C) broad
D) changeable
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2, p. 3
Question Type: Factual
20) Some research gives personality tests to a group of people and compares their scores. What approach
does this illustrate?
A) the idiographic approach
B) the case study approach
C) the nomothetic approach
D) the clinical approach
Answer: C
Difficulty: 1, p. 3
Question Type: Conceptual
21) One person at a time is studied using the ______approach.
A) factor analytic
B) eclectic
C) nomothetic
D) idiographic
Answer: D
Difficulty: 1, p. 3
Question Type: Factual
22) Case studies and psychobiography are examples of the ______approach.
A) idiographic
B) eclectic
C) nomothetic
D) correlational
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2, p. 3
Question Type: Conceptual
23) Rae Carlson (1971) criticized nomothetic personality research. Which of the following is included in her criticism?
A) Researchers have failed to understand individuals as whole persons.
B) Researchers have failed to use appropriate statistics.
C) Researchers have ignored theory.
D) Researchers have studied too many different kinds of people.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 3, p. 3
Question Type: Conceptual
24) Which of the following is not a major issue in personality theory concerning the formation and changes in personality mentioned in the text?
A) To what extent is personality influenced by heredity?
B) To what extent can personality change as a result of learning?
C) How much change in personality can actually occur in adolescence?
D) How critical are the childhood years for personality development?
Answer: C
Difficulty: 3, pp. 4-5
Question Type: Conceptual
25) Personality ______refers to motivation.
A) description
B) dynamics
C) development
D) measurement
Answer: B
Difficulty: 1, p. 4
Question Type: Factual
26) Personality dynamics includes which of the following?
A) adaptation to the environment
B) cognitive processes
C) cultural influence
D) all of the above
Answer: D
Difficulty: 3, p. 4
Question Type: Factual
27) Biological influences result in differences in styles of behavior and emotional reactions in infancy and
afterwards. Which term best describes such differences?
A) personality
B) trait
C) type
D) temperament
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2, p. 5
Question Type: Factual
28) All of the following are dynamic issues addressed by personality theories except
A) Individual differences
B) Adaptation and Adjustment
C) Cognitive Processes
D) Culture
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2, pp. 5 – 6 (table)
Question Type: Factual
29) Which of the following is not a major issue addressed by personality theories?
A) Descriptive issues
B) Developmental issues
C) Directive issues
D) Developmental issues
Answer: C
Difficulty: 1, pp. 5 – 6 (table)
Question Type: Factual
30) Personality theories are tested using the ______method.
A) intuitive
B) clinical
C) scientific
D) idiographic
Answer: C
Difficulty: 1, p. 6
Question Type: Factual
31) A ______is a conceptual tool for understanding certain specified phenomena.
A) theoretical construct
B) psychological test
C) theory
D) variable
Answer: C
Difficulty: 1, p. 9
Question Type: Factual
32) Theoretical constructs are
A) obsolete in modern personality theory.
B) the concepts of a theory.
C) used only in experimental research.
D) used only in correlational research.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2, p. 7
Question Type: Factual
33) Which of the following illustrates an operational definition of "shyness."
A) Shyness is caused by teasing.
B) Shyness in childhood predicts shyness in adulthood.
C) Shyness is measured by a 25-item self-report test.
D) Shyness is common in adolescence.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2, p. 7
Question Type: Conceptual
34) The statement, "High self-esteem causes social responsibility" is
A) a theoretical proposition.
B) a hypothesis.
C) an operational definition.
D) a paradigm.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2, p. 7
Question Type: Factual
35) A theoretical proposition is
A) an abstract statement telling how two theoretical constructs are related.
B) a statement saying how a theoretical construct can be measured.
C) a prediction about observations in research.
D) a proposal to change the way personality is developed, based on theoretical considerations.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2, p. 7
Question Type: Factual
36) Which of the following illustrates a theoretical proposition?
A) Frustration leads to aggression.
B) Aggression includes verbal behavior (e.g., insulting someone) as well as physical behavior (e.g.,
hitting someone).
C) Frustration can be produced by a malfunctioning soda machine.
D) Frustration is a subjective experience.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2, pp. 7-8
Question Type: Conceptual
37) A hypothesis is
A) an abstract statement telling how two theoretical constructs are related.
B) a statement saying how a theoretical construct can be measured.
C) a prediction about observations in research.
D) a proposal to change the way personality is developed, based on theoretical considerations.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2, p. 7
Question Type: Factual
38) A hypothesis is tested by
A) logical reasoning.
B) reviewing the published literature.
C) conducting empirical research.
D) examining the results of several related studies.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2, p. 7
Question Type: Factual
39) The criterion of verifiability requires that theoretical propositions be
A) true.
B) reliable.
C) testable by empirical research.
D) applicable to a variety of populations.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2, p. 8
Question Type: Factual
40) For a theoretical construct to be clearly understood, it must be:
A) verifiable
B) parsimonious
C) defined precisely
D) valuable heuristically
Answer: C
Difficulty: 3, p. 8
Question Type: Conceptual
41) Theories that apply to only a narrow range of behavior are not
A) comprehensive.
B) refutable.
C) scientific.
D) empirically verifiable.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2, p. 8
Question Type: Factual
42) A theory that offers practical strategies for improving human life is said to have
A) comprehensiveness.
B) applied value.
C) generalizability.
D) empirical verifiability.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2, p. 9
Question Type: Factual
43) Which of the following is not listed by the text as a criterion of a good theory?
A) comprehensiveness
B) verifiability
C) applied value
D) consistency with human values
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2, pp. 7-9
Question Type: Factual
44) A theory that has suggested new ideas for later theories and research, is said to have
A) applied value.
B) heuristic value.
C) parsimony.
D) empirical validity.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 3, p. 9 12
Question Type: Factual
45) Which statement best describes the relationship between theory and research?
A) Theory and research are separate disciplines within personality psychology.
B) Theory influences research by suggesting research ideas, but research has no impact on theory.
C) When research has become sophisticated, with good measuring instruments, theory is no longer
necessary.
D) Theory and research mutually influence one another.
Answer: D
Difficulty: 3, p. 9
Question Type: Conceptual
46) Implicit theories of personality could be described by all but which of the following?
A) They are generally held by ordinary people.
B) They are unscientific.
C) They are not necessarily incorrect.
D) Their accuracy is guaranteed.
Answer: D
Difficulty: 3, p. 9
Question Type: Conceptual
47) Which statement best describes personality research methods?
A) Experimental research is the best research method. Others are now obsolete.
B) Personality can only be studied by correlational methods, since it is not possible to do true experiments
in this area.
C) Personality research is best done with large groups of subjects.
D) A variety of personality research methods are appropriate for personality research.
Answer: D
Difficulty: 1, pp. 9-10
Question Type: Conceptual
48) A personality measure that produces consistent scores from one time to another is
A) valid.
B) useless.
C) reliable.
D) projective.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2, p. 10
Question Type: Factual
49) A researcher decides to see how consistent a new personality test is by computing two scores. One
score is the total of the odd-numbered items. The other score is the total of the even-numbered items.
What is the researcher assessing?
A) validity
B) test-retest reliability
C) alternate forms reliability
D) split-half reliability
Answer: D
Difficulty: 3, p. 10
Question Type: Conceptual
50) Which approach to reliability can be used if subjects are tested on only one occasion, using only one
test?
A) test-retest reliability
B) alternate forms reliability
C) split half reliability
D) No reliability tests are possible with only one testing session.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 3, p. 10
Question Type: Conceptual
51) Which of the following factors contributes to higher test reliability?
A) homogeneous items
B) a short test
C) changes in the personality trait
D) items that test different things
Answer: A
Difficulty: 3, p. 10
Question Type: Conceptual
52) Assessing intelligence by measuring the size of a person's head would be
A) reliable but not valid.
B) valid but not reliable.
C) neither reliable nor valid.
D) both reliable and valid.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 1, p. 10
Question Type: Conceptual
53) Sam is taking a personality test for the second time. The first time he was simply guessing at answers.
The second time, he remembers how he answered before, and answers the same way in order to be consistent. The test will probably be
A) reliable but not necessarily valid.
B) valid but not reliable.
C) neither reliable nor valid.
D) both reliable and valid.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 3, p. 10
Question Type: Conceptual
54) In using the "known groups method" to determine whether a test is valid, a researcher needs to test
A) groups of people whom he or she knows personally.
B) subjects who agree to have their names known.
C) groups with published norms on a variety of personality tests.
D) groups which can be presumed to differ on the construct being measured.
Answer: D
Difficulty: 3, p. 10
Question Type: Factual
55) If a test of academic ability given to high school students is correlated with grades during the
freshman year at college, the test has
A) construct validity.
B) test-retest reliability.
C) alternate forms reliability.
D) predictive validity.
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2, p. 10
Question Type: Conceptual
56) Construct validity is present when
A) a construct can be operationally defined.
B) a test distinguishes among criterion groups.
C) several research studies confirm the usefulness of the construct.
D) good measurement has been demonstrated.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2, p. 11
Question Type: Factual
57) Direct self-report measures of personality
A) are seldom used.
B) are often reliable.
C) always measure several personality traits simultaneously.
D) are valid even when subjects intentionally give false responses.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 3, p. 11
Question Type: Conceptual
58) Tests, such as inkblot tests, which ask people to respond to ambiguous stimuli, are called
A) self-report measures.
B) response measures.
C) projective tests.
D) behavioral measures.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2, p. 11
Question Type: Factual
59) Behavioral measures used in personality research include
A) Real life observation
B) Laboratory observation
C) Self reports
D) All the above
Answer: D
Difficulty: 1, p. 11
Question Type: Factual
60) Personality researchers use
A) self-report measures.
B) projective tests.
C) behavioral measures.
D) all of the above
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2, p. 11
Question Type: Conceptual
61) ______research examines the relationships among two or more variables.
A) Correlational
B) Experimental
C) Idiographic
D) Psychobiographical
Answer: A
Difficulty: 1, p. 12
Question Type: Factual
62) Correlational research
A) is used to demonstrate causal relationships among variables.
B) is seldom used in the field of personality.
C) cannot determine causality underlying observed relationships among variables.
D) includes independent and dependent variables.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2, p. 12
Question Type: Factual
63) Which of the following procedures can determine cause-effect relationships?
A) correlational research.
B) factor analysis.
C) experimental research.
D) the case study.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2, p. 12
Question Type: Factual
64) A research study has shown that adolescents who play on sports teams are more likely to be admitted
to college than those who do not play sports. From this study, we can conclude that
A) playing on sports teams causes increased success in college applications.
B) college applications cause increased participation on sports teams.
C) most college students have played sports.
D) there is a relationship between playing sports and being admitted into college
Answer: D
Difficulty: 2, pp. 12-13
Question Type: Conceptual
65) The independent variable corresponds to what a researcher thinks is the
A) cause.
B) effect.
C) third variable.
D) uncontrollable factor.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 1, p. 12
Question Type: Factual
66) The dependent variable corresponds to what a researcher thinks is the
A) cause.
B) effect.
C) third variable.
D) uncontrollable factor.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 1, p. 12
Question Type: Factual
67) A researcher is interested in testing the proposition that being in a good mood causes increased
cooperation among children at school. This can be tested by conducting an experiment in which the dependent variable is
A) mood.
B) being in school.
C) cooperation.
D) age.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2, p. 12
Question Type: Conceptual
68) A researcher is interested in testing the proposition that watching a lot of television causes increased
aggressiveness among children at school. This can be tested by conducting an experiment in which the independent variable is
A) watching a lot of television.
B) being in school.
C) aggressiveness.
D) age.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 2, p. 12
Question Type: Conceptual
69) An intensive investigation of an individual is called a(n)
A) bibliography.
B) experiment.
C) case study.
D) psychoanalysis.
Answer: C
Difficulty: 2, p. 13
Question Type: Factual
70) Psychobiography is different from case studies because psychobiography has more emphasis on
A) pathology.
B) theoretical considerations.
C) the individual.
D) experimental methods.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 2, p. 13
Question Type: Factual
71) Which statement best describes the relationship between psychobiography and psychoanalytic theory?
A) Psychobiography is, by definition, based upon psychoanalytic theory.
B) In the past, psychoanalytic theory guided much psychobiography, but the field has broadened to
include other theories.
C) Psychobiography is the term used for psychoanalytic case studies, when they are published in non-
clinical journals.
D) Psychobiography is a therapeutic technique within psychoanalysis.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 3, pp. 13-14
Question Type: Conceptual
72) Psychobiography is most useful for
A) clarifying theoretical statements.
B) testing cause-effect relationships.
C) devising new personality measures.
D) treating people with personality maladjustments.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 3, p. 13
Question Type: Conceptual
73) An approach that combines aspects of several different theories is called
A) eclectic.
B) heuristic.
C) nomothetic.
D) experimental.
Answer: A
Difficulty: 1, p. 14
Question Type: Factual
74) The term ______refers to a theoretical model that has been generally accepted by scientists in a
field (such as personality psychology).
A) paradigm
B) construct
C) theory
D) hypothesis
Answer: A
Difficulty: 1, p. 14
Question Type: Factual
75) One major division among theories, sometimes called the "two disciplines" or "two cultures" of
psychology, is between
A) clinical and idiographic theories.
B) scientific and humanistic approaches.
C) human and animal theories.
D) laboratory and scientific theories.
Answer: B
Difficulty: 3, p. 14
Question Type: Factual
True/False
76) Personality may be defined as the underlying causes within the person of individual behavior and
experience.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: 1, p. 2
Question Type: Factual
77) Personality types are quantitative, while traits are not quantitative.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: 2, pp. 2-3
Question Type: Factual
78) A personality type is broader than a personality trait.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: 2, p. 3
Question Type: Conceptual
79) Most personality research is idiographic.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: 3, p. 3
Question Type: Conceptual
80) Traits, factors, and types all describe personality?
Answer: TRUE
p. 3(table)
81) The idiographic approach studies one person at a time.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: 1, p. 3
Question Type: Factual
82) Psychobiography uses a nomothetic approach to understanding people.
Answer: FALSE
Difficulty: 2, p. 3
Question Type: Conceptual
83) Nomothetic research is generally regarded as more scientific than idiographic research.
Answer: TRUE
Difficulty: 2, p. 3p. 4-5
Question Type: Conceptual
84) Historically, culture and society have been important considerations in the study of personality?